In the Clouds
by Hippo and Friends
Summary: Cloud and Tifa finally admit their feelings for each other. But soon, complications arise... Rated R. Writer: Rhino


Disclaimer: I do not own these souls.  
  
In the Clouds By Rhino  
  
Tifa stared nervously at the front door of Cloud's home. She could not decide whether to knock or leave. She had been trying to hide her feelings for him, but she knew she was rapidly losing the ability to do so. Tifa remembered the previous month, when they spent time together the night before their defeat of Sephiroth, and how she couldn't even admit it then.  
  
But, as the time passed, Tifa realized she could not keep herself silenced forever. When Cloud was with Aeris, she felt tense jealousy build up inside of her. She wouldn't say anything, for she wanted Cloud to be happy, but now that Aeris was gone and in a happier place, she didn't want him to be lonely. They had been close friends for two decades. Now, she wondered if they would be better off if they were closer together.  
  
Her thoughts were interrupted when the door opened rather suddenly, causing Tifa to nearly jump.  
  
"Tifa?" inquired Cloud. "What are you doing here?"  
  
Tifa blushed immediately. She was quite embarrassed.  
  
"N-nothing, Cloud," she replied sheepishly.  
  
"You're obviously here for something," Cloud replied.  
  
Tifa placed her face in her hands. She was defeated.  
  
"There's something I have to tell you, Cloud," she mouthed.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"There's something I have to tell you," she managed to choke out enough so Cloud could hear.  
  
"What's that?" he asked.  
  
There was a long period of silence. Tifa's mouth became dry, and her knees began to tremble. This was it.  
  
"Cloud, you've been my best friend my whole life, and I don't know where I could be without you. You save my life, and I know you've made it worth living. But now, Cloud I think...........that.......we should be more than good friends. I.......love you Cloud."  
  
Tifa felt some relief, now that she had said it, but when she noticed Cloud's eyes widen, she became nervous again, wondering whether she should have told him.  
  
Just then, Cloud took Tifa's right hand and placed it in both of his. Suddenly, Tifa felt a wave of joy inside. She had said the right thing.  
  
"I love you too, Tifa," replied Cloud.  
  
By this point, tears of bliss were streaming down Tifa's face. In response, Cloud pressed his lips against hers. She kissed back, and wrapped her arms around his shoulders.  
  
"I don't ever want us to be apart again," she whispered into his ear.  
  
"Neither do I," replied Cloud as he began to rock her gently. "Neither do I."  
  
*****  
  
That night, the two bonded in the most intimate way. After that, the two young lovers laid in Cloud's bed, gazing into each other's faces.  
  
Cloud looked perplexed.  
  
"It's hard to believe, isn't it?" thought Tifa out loud.  
  
"I know," replied Cloud.  
  
"Get used to it!" she teased. "I'm never letting you go."  
  
"Good," Cloud responded.  
  
"Hey Cloud," began Tifa, after a short hesitation.  
  
"What?"  
  
"I'd really like to be a mother someday."  
  
Cloud was silent. He thought she might say something like that. That was what worried him, for he wasn't that fond of children.  
  
"It would be such a wonderful symbol of our love," she added.  
  
Cloud nodded. He couldn't think of anything else to say. Perhaps they would talk more about it later.  
  
Smiling, Tifa pecked him on the cheek as she pulled the sheet over them, preparing for sleep. She left her breasts uncovered, so Cloud could see them. She was about to drift into slumber when Cloud sat up suddenly.  
  
"What is it?" she asked.  
  
"I'm going down for a drink. Want something?"  
  
"No thanks," she replied lovingly.  
  
Cloud climbed out of bed, slipped on a pair of pants, and headed down to the kitchen table, where he poured himself a glass or root beer. He couldn't believe how his life was going. Just two weeks before, he was all alone, with no one to care about him or to keep him company. He didn't even expect to see Tifa again. But now, it was different. He crossed paths with Tifa once more, and now they were together. Right now, life could not be better for him.  
  
Suddenly, Cloud's hands began to tremble. A ringing began to sound itself in Cloud's head, soft at first, but gradually growing louder. He dropped the glass to the floor, causing it to shatter. In too much pain to care, Cloud placed his hands on the sides of his head, collapsing to the ground. He closed his eyes, hoping for it to end quickly.  
  
"HELLO, CLOUD," said a familiar sounding voice through the ringing.  
  
"Who are you?" demanded Cloud weakly.  
  
"I THINK YOU KNOW. WE'VE BEEN THROUGH SO MUCH TOGETHER."  
  
"You can't be Sephiroth!" whispered Cloud.  
  
"I AM."  
  
"But you're dead!"  
  
"YOU KILLED MY BODY. BUT MY SOUL FOUND ITS WAY INTO YOURS."  
  
"You're possessing me?"  
  
"I AM SHARING YOU."  
  
"Leave me," Cloud pleaded. "Haven't you had enough?"  
  
"FAR FROM IT."  
  
"I'm not endangering the world for you again, Sephiroth," declared Cloud.  
  
"NO, YOU'RE NOT."  
  
"What do you want?" demanded Cloud.  
  
"I WANT YOU TO KILL HER."  
  
"Who?"  
  
"HER."  
  
"Tifa?!"  
  
"YES."  
  
"I can't kill her!"  
  
"YOU WILL."  
  
"I love her!"  
  
"SHE IS KEEPING YOU FROM YOUR FREEDOM."  
  
"No!"  
  
"THERE IS AN AX IN THE CLOSET."  
  
With that, Cloud rose to his feet, despite his resistance. He was drawn to the closet, like a moth to a flame, where he found the ax resting alone in the corner. He tried to look away from it, hoping to put something else in his mind, but to no avail. Sephiroth had almost total control over him.  
  
Before he knew it, Cloud was slowly climbing the stairs, cradling the ax in his hands. His heart began to accelerate as he tread stair after stair. As he reached the top, he wanted to cry out to Tifa, to warn her about what had taken over him. But his voice would not work. He turned the corner, facing the bedroom again. Tifa was no longer in bed, and the room was slightly lighter. Cloud made his way across the dark hallway, passing the other doors, the other bedrooms, hoping Tifa had escaped through the window. As he listened to his own feet creak across the wooden floor, he prayed Tifa would get as far away from him as he could. Of course, the window was far from the ground, a fall which would certainly rob the victim of mobility.  
  
One step, then another. Cloud was now at the doorway. He could hear a sound of urinating coming from the bathroom, which was the source of the light that made the bedroom appear brighter.  
  
"THIS IS IT, CLOUD."  
  
He looked into the bathroom just in time to see Tifa get up off the toilet, flush, and head for the mirror to fix her hair. She closed her eyes when she heard Cloud's footsteps in the bedroom.  
  
"I hear my Cloud!" she cooed from the bathroom.  
  
Tifa continued to stand at the mirror, with her hands on the counter and her eyes still closed as Cloud continued to take quiet steps toward her.  
  
"Give me a hug!" she called, almost as if she was singing.  
  
By this point, Cloud was only a few feet behind Tifa. He shifted to the right and rotated his body ninety degrees to the left. He changed the position of his hands, so he was holding the ax like a baseball bat.  
  
"DO IT," ordered the voice.  
  
Cloud tightened his grip on the ax.  
  
"SHE HINDERS OUR PROGRESS."  
  
He drew the ax backward and prepared to swing.  
  
"I feel your love behind me, Cloud," continued Tifa. "Wrap me up in it."  
  
"WRAP HER UP WITH DEATH INSTEAD."  
  
Cloud drove the ax into Tifa's lower back. She let out a scream of pain and agony, with her feet collapsing as she continued to hold onto the counter. He struck her again, this time in the left upper arm, causing her to fall on her back. The arm came off almost cleanly, hitting the ground almost as hard as Tifa did. She tried to kick him, but her legs would not move. He had paralyzed her on the first strike. Cloud continued to hack Tifa all over her body, until her chest could barely rise.  
  
"Why, Cloud, why?" Tifa whispered. Then her chest rose no more.  
  
Cloud dropped the ax and left the bathroom. He quietly took himself through the bedroom, out into the hall, and down the stairs. After a brief drink in the kitchen, to cool his nerves, Cloud made his was to the foyer, where he opened the front door, left his house, and disappeared into the night. 


End file.
